Crotone prepares for the trip to Catania with a certainty between the posts and several issues still to be resolved, especially from midfield onwards. Merelli will not be there at the “Massimino”, stopped for two days after his disqualification and forced to miss both the match in Sicily and the subsequent home match with Audace Cerignola. It will therefore be up to Antonio Pio Martino, born in 2006, to defend the rossoblù goal in one of the traditionally most complicated away matches of the season.
In front of the young goalkeeper, the defensive structure should instead remain without particular changes. In the starting 4-3-3 there is room for Veltri, Armini, Tanco and Groppelli, a quartet on which Crotone seems inclined to focus also against Catania. The discussion relating to the midfield and above all to the offensive trident is more complex. One of the solutions includes Crapisto, Grosso and Barcella on the midline, with Tordini, Musso and Zunno in the advanced department. However, the hypothesis of an attack made up of Brignola, Musso and Zunno also remains open. Then there is a third possibility, with Crapisto advanced in the role of right-wing attacking winger and a midfield made up of Grosso, Pedro Rodriguez and Barcella.
The previous data, moreover, illustrates well how the “Massimino” has been an unfavorable ground for Crotone over the years. In the 17 official matches played in Catania, the Pythagoreans managed to win only twice. However, the Etna team won ten, while five matches ended in a draw. Overall numbers clearly favorable to the Sicilians, even if the picture partially changes by restricting the analysis to the most recent challenges. In the last six matches played in Sicily there has been one success for each side and four draws, a sign of a match that has become more balanced than in the past. The latest precedent, however, remains favorable to Catania. On 5 December 2025 the Etna team won 2-0, once again confirming Crotone’s difficulties in a stadium in which the rossoblù have achieved little over the course of their history. This time the team will try to reverse the trend, also relying on a very young goalkeeper and an eleven that, at least in the offensive men, could only be defined close to the match.
